When viewing through a compound microscope, our eye should be positioned not on the eye-piece but a short distance away from it for best viewing why? How much should be that short distance between the eye and eye-piece?

When we place our eyes too close to the eyepiece of a compound microscope, we are unable to collect much refracted light. As a result, the field of view decreases substantially. Hence, the clarity of the image gets blurred. The best position of the eye for viewing through a compound microscope is at the eye-ring attached to the eyepiece. The precise location of the eye depends on the separation between the objective lens and the eyepiece.